Isn't that a concern that is best taken care of by Air India's operational management?

But take a close look at how the country's national carrier has been run in the past few decades, you will find several such instances of the airline's micro-management by the civil aviation ministry or the minister, irrespective of who is at the helm.

How Air India's political baggage dug its grave

Some years ago, much before Singh took charge of the ministry, the decision on what kind of blankets should be purchased for distribution to passengers during flights was taken in concurrence with the civil aviation ministry.

In one such meeting, held at the ministry, the Air India management displayed a range of blankets so that the best variety could be chosen and purchased for passenger comfort!

That, too, was unusual.

Why shouldn't the decision of buying blankets be left to the relevant division in Air India?

The ministry had obviously different ideas.

If there is still any trace of unusualness in the instance of the ministry deciding to scrap excess baggage allowance, it could be so for a slightly different reason.

How Air India's political baggage dug its grave

Consider also how and why the ministerial crackdown on free excess baggage allowance took place and you will see how state ownership of the national carrier has undermined the commercial principles that should drive its operation.

According to a newspaper report, the minister noticed a sharp rise in the requests that his office was receiving for allowing free excess baggage for Air India passengers.

It also transpired that senior officials in the ministry were also empowered to grant these favours and the number of such requests coming to them was similarly on the rise.

How Air India's political baggage dug its grave

That is a good move, but it will make only a limited impact unless the minister undertakes a comprehensive review of all the discretionary powers that his office or the ministry officials enjoy over the way Air India is run.

Indeed this is also the reason why the government should privatise Air India, so that its operational management can take decisions based on commercial principles without any interference from the ministry.

One of former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha's Budgets had indeed made an announcement that Air India would be privatised, but that proposal never got implemented.

It is doubtful if the trade unions opposed to the privatisation move have in the process secured any significant gains for the workers of the airline.

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Image: A Bharat Petroleum refuelling vehicle sits on the tarmac next to an Air India A320 aircraft.Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters

How Air India's political baggage dug its grave

But it would be wrong to conclude that competition alone was responsible for this damage.

The government's management of the national carrier has been equally responsible for its woes.

Deciding for it what kind of blankets should be bought and extending to its favoured passengers the free excess baggage facility are only two of many such instances that brought the airline down to its present state.

The danger now is in believing that fixing such minor problems alone could help the airline recover from its current mess. Air India needs a far more comprehensive overhaul before it can regain its lost glory.